For his outstanding devotion to the College, Alvin D. Hall, a member of the Bowdoin Class of 1974 and a Bowdoin College Trustee for more than a decade, has been named the recipient of the 2019 Alumni Service Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Bowdoin Alumni Council.
The award is presented each year in recognition of an individual’s record of volunteer service to the College.
Hall is an internationally renowned financial educator, author, broadcast journalist, and art collector who, in service to the College, has been a leader, counselor, advocate, and benefactor in ways both highly visible and largely unheralded.
Originally from a large family in rural Wakulla County, Florida, Hall excelled at Bowdoin, serving as a senior interviewer in the Office of Admissions and publicity manager of Masque and Gown. Winning the Goodwin Commencement Prize earned him the opportunity to deliver an address to the graduating Class of 1974.
After receiving a master’s degree in American literature from the University of North Carolina, he began working on Wall Street at Leo Fleur Inc. Wall Street Training International. Hall then served as executive director of the New York Institute of Finance, the oldest financial services training company in the US, for three years before establishing Cooperhall Press Inc., through which he offers courses on investment markets for a large variety of industry professionals.
Hall’s skill in offering practical and meaningful financial advice led to a career in broadcasting in the United Kingdom, where he hosted three prime-time BBC television series: Alvin Hall’s Guide to Successful Investing,Investing for All with Alvin Hall, and Your Money or Your Life, which was honored as Personal Finance Program of the Year. He was a guest panelist onThe Apprentice: You’re Firedand acted in the BBC comedy Puppy Love. He also hosted several award-winning programs about art, music, culture, and current events on BBC radio, such as Jay-Z: From Brooklyn to the Boardroom, and authored several bestselling books, including Getting Started in Stockand the award-winning children’s book Show Me the Money.
Hall has served as a member of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art Advisory Council since 2011. In addition to his deep knowledge of contemporary art, Hall has shared several works from his personal collection for exhibition at Bowdoin. He has provided his skills, expertise, and wise counsel to Bowdoin presidents, senior administrators, and the directors of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art on a variety of topics throughout his long and devoted association with the College.
The Alumni Service Award will be presented, along with others, Saturday, June 1, 2019, during Reunion Convocation. Read about the other award recipients.
Registration for Reunion 2019 (May 30-June 2) begins in March.